Satellite images of Nepal have revealed the Earth’s surface has collapsed by about 1.37 metres near Kathmandu, but experts fear the full force of the April 25 earthquake has yet to be felt.

Scientists from the University of New South Wales compared images taken by the Japanese ALOS-2 satellite as it flew over Nepal on February 21 and May 1 to illustrate the deformation the quake caused to the Earth’s surface.

The overlayed images also reveal the worst ground deformation occurred near Kathmandu, and not at the quake’s epicentre more than 80 kilometres to the west of the city.

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Associate Professor Linlin Ge said the displacement was less than expected, prompting fears the stress that caused the initial earthquake may not have been fully released.

“It should be roughly several metres,” he said.

“There are a lot of concerns about what is to come in terms of aftershocks, because the ground displacement is much less than we expected.

“Our suspicions are that the stress has not been fully released at this stage.”